The Gift of Turbo
by Rainey Lennyn
Summary: When our heroes leave Muiranthias and Kimberly finds Tommy happy in Kat's arms, will she finally recognize a love that's been waiting for her?


The crew returning home after the Turbo adventure was raucous with noise and full of joy long into the night. Its members, though tired and dirty, couldn't fathom the thought of sleep after their latest adventure. They had won one more huge battle in their lives and had much to celebrate. Their planet was safe from Divatox and her henchmen once again, they were the guardians of the awesome power of Turbo, and two of their own had been safely rescued. The main cockpit of the ship was full of chatter, laughter and repeated hugs as the Rangers and their friends were merrymaking. Adam, Tanya and Justin, the young boy who had taken Rocky's place, were deep in the midst of a fierce game of Go Fish. Justin was in the lead by far, playing on his competition's distraction and interest in each other. Kat and Tommy chatted to a bedridden Rocky through the view port, telling their story with loud emphasis and dramatic gestures. Tommy was particularly good with the sound effects. Next to them, Jason and Kimberly frequently jumped in with overlooked details as they watched over Bulk and Skull. The poor junior police officers' brains had been horribly scrambled and although the effects were temporary, they still sat blabbering unintelligibly about Power Rangers and monsters. 

"These poor guys," Jason Lee Scott laughed as the duo hugged each other in fear of a fly. "They sure have been through a lot these last few years and all because of us."

Kimberly Hart giggled as Skull attached himself to her arm.

"It wouldn't have been the same without them. I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not."

"Sure it is," Jason said affectionately. "They really turned their lives around. They went from bumbling punks to a pair of pretty good guys. I might even look into being on the force with them."

Kim looked at him in surprise.

"That's what you're gonna do? Be a police officer?"

"Sure, why not?" he shrugged. "I mean, all this adventure was great and it brought back some memories but it's their turn now. Besides if I'm a cop, at least I can still feel like I'm protecting Angel Grove."

"Oh, right, of course," she stumbled. "That makes sense. I've got a life to get back to too. Someday I'll make to the Olympics, you know." she sighed. "It felt good to be back though, didn't it?"

Jason smiled wistfully.

"It sure did."

A burst of boisterous laughter disrupted their remembrance filled moment as Tommy Oliver demonstrated his headlong dive over the waterfall. Rocky DeSantos'open mouthed gape made everyone laugh even harder. He exclaimed,

"Dude, Tommy, you get crazier every year!"

Katherine Hillard, affectionately called Kat, grinned, placing an arm around Tommy's waist casually.

"Yes but this time it was for the right reasons."

"Anything to save a friend," Tommy replied, the two exchanging a secret glance that wasn't secret to anyone else in the room.

"_Anything to save a friend_," Kim muttered sarcastically under her breath, turning her attention to Bulk and Skull again. Jason stared at her, shocked. The grumpy outburst was completely unlike his buoyant, cheerful pal.

"Kimberly Ann! What was that about?"

"Lower your voice, would you?" she hissed, glancing around to make sure no one else had heard. "I didn't mean it. It just sounded cheesy. I mean, I'm just tired, that's all," she ended in a huff. "I'm going to go freshen up. The rest of you may be okay with being dirty but I'm not!"

With that she flounced from the commons, chin held stubbornly high. Jason watched her leave, words caught in his throat. A part of him wanted to chase after her to make her explain what her animosity had meant but the sturdy part of him overruled. He shook his head, walking over to join Adam who was digging through the cooler unit, looking for something other than carbon-froze space food.

"Man, the cuisine sucks, he complained, then noticed the former pink ranger was missing. "Where'd Kim go off to?"

"Oh, you know her, "Jason rolled his eyes. "The world's ending if her makeup's smudged. Oh wait, the world already did almost end."

He and Adam chuckled as Tommy strolled up to them, grinning widely. He punched Jason lightly on the arm.

"Hey, bro, where did Kim run off to? I was hoping we could do some catching up before we got home."

"Ran off to the bunks to 'freshen up'," Jason explained, feeling a bolt of jealousy shoot up his spine. "She should be back by the next millennium."

"Well, hey, if you see her before that, tell her I wanna talk. Me and Kat are gonna go for a walk before hitting the hay."

"Or rolling in it," Jason grumbled as soon as Tommy had turned away. "Tommy must have a thing for pink. Pink Rangers, that is."

Adam gazed at his friend wonderingly.

"Jase, are you okay? Do you have a problem with Tommy dating Kat? I mean it has been a while since Kimberly and she was the one who dumped him. I think it's good that Tommy's moved on."

"He's moved on for now," Jason sighed. "What about when he finds out that Kim's still in love with him? Which Pink Ranger will he choose?"

"Kim's still in love with Tommy?!" Adam exclaimed, the end smothered when Jason clapped a hand over his mouth. He cleared his throat. "I mean, how do you know that? Did she say so?"

"Trust me. When you've known Kim as long as I have, you can tell."

He leaned back in his chair, locking his arms behind his head. He wouldn't mention how much that bothered him and how for so long he had wanted his best friend's girl.

……

After Adam and Tanya had retired for the night, Justin had fallen asleep on the floor and Rocky was snoring on the view port, Jason finally pulled himself to his feet and dragged himself to the bunks. He was sleepily punching in the code to open the doors when he heard soft sniffles from around the corner. Following his ears, he found Kimberly sitting on the floor, knees tucked to her chest, the aftereffects of tears obvious.

"Kim? Are you alright?" he asked softly. 

She jumped at the sound of his voice and coughed, smiling weakly.

"Oh, hey, Jase, I didn't hear you coming."

"It's kinda late, you know. Shouldn't you be getting your beauty sleep?" he asked, sinking into a sitting position beside her.

"Oh yeah, yeah. I will. In fact, I was just getting there."

"It doesn't look like it, Kim. It looks like you've been crying," he replied quietly, nudging her to look at him.

"No, no," she protested but quickly gave in. "Okay, maybe a little but it's just because I miss all this. Being a ranger and everything."

Jason knew that couldn't be all of it, remembering Tommy's intention to reminisce with her. He broached the subject cautiously.

"So did Tommy find you? He said he wanted to talk."

"Oh yeah, he found me," she grumbled bitterly. "He told me how happy he was to see me and then he just gushed about how happy he is with Katherine. How wonderful and understanding and _supportive _she is. And he expected me to be happy for him! Can you believe that?"

"Well, you did end it with him, Kim. You wrote him the letter, remember? Did you think he wouldn't ever get over you?"

"Jason?! Of course I did," she sniffed. "Just not with Katherine, for goodness sake. She tried to kill me once, remember? She's the Pink Ranger now though so I guess she just replaced me completely."

He couldn't stand to see her so down.

"Kimberly, no one could replace you! You're the original Pink Ranger and everyone still loves you so much that they came to rescue you! How can you say those things?"

"It's just Florida gets so lonely sometimes and I was hoping I'd find a place in Angel Grove still. But," she trailed off. "Kat's pretty much in it." She stood shakily with a sigh, wiping the last remnants of tears away and getting ready to walk away. Jason muttered softly,

"Maybe your place just wasn't with Tommy."

Kim's ears perked up and she frowned in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jason inhaled, took all the past few years' feelings and balled them into a fist at the pit of his stomach. He blurted out,

"Maybe your place is with me in Angel Grove!"

After his explosion there was only silence in the hallway as the two stared at each other, dumbfounded. Jason's were narrowed in mixed regret and hope. Kim's were wide with surprise and doubt. Finally Jason spoke, his voice throaty with emotion.

"We've always been best friends-even now though we're not Power Rangers and live states away. I-I was always afraid to ask you out because we acted like brother and sister. Then Tommy came and you fell head over heels in love with him. I didn't know what to do-he became one of my best friends too and that was it. You've always been off-limits to me but I still tried to stay close to you. Protect you, you know? And now Tommy's out of the picture but nothing's changed. You're still off-limits because you still love him!" He gasped in a breath and continued, "And I don't care if this was stupid but I love you! I've always loved you! So don't you dare think that Tommy was all you had."

He ended in a breathless huff, muscles clenched, ready for heartbreak and cursing himself for being so honest. Kimberly eyed him strangely and stepped closer to him. She tipped her chin up to stare into his soulful brown eyes and whispered,

"You've always loved me? Even when there was no chance or thought or anything?"

He nodded and swallowed hard, painfully awaiting her response. Kim placed her hands on his chest and felt his heart pounding underneath her palm. This was one of her oldest friends and he was right. She had never thought of him as anything but a brother and now in such close proximity, she was amazed at how he suddenly didn't feel like a sibling at all. He had been the truest friend she'd ever had-even more than Tommy. She whispered, biting her lower lip nervously,

"If you've loved me that long, prove it."

Jason stuttered in shock, tripping over his own tongue, mumbling out words neither could understand. Kimberly rolled her eyes in trademark fashion and brought his head down, pressing her mouth to his. After the few seconds it took for realization to sink in, the two got lost in the kiss they had never expected to happen. It was new and thrilling, passionate and exploratory. When it ended in soft, lingering kisses that Jason kept pursuing, they smiled at each other in embarrassment like they hadn't known each other for most of their lives. Jason wrapped his arms tighter around his tiny ex-Pink ranger and he asked teasingly,

"So uh, do you wanna be the one to tell Tommy?"

Kimberly grinned and took a step back, holding her ex-Red Ranger's hand. She winked,

"I think it can wait until morning."

With that she playfully led him into the bunks, closing the door behind them. Down the hall, a no longer sleepy-eyed Justin who had watched the whole thing shook his head.

"Adults. Gotta love 'em."


End file.
